Alpbachtal
The picturesque Alpbachtal, compared with the majestic peaks of the Zillertal and Inntal makes this a photographers’ dream route. The route takes you through forest, beside hayfields leading up the mountainside surrounded by cherry trees.
The majority of the surface is tarmac with a couple of parts over 12%. However mainly it a comfortable 5%-8% up to the ‘sattel’.
On the way up from Brixlegg, it’s a steady climb with hay fields on either side. Make sure you take in the views across both Alpbachtal and Inntal. From Reith in Alpbachtal, you turn at the sign for Hygna, then keep to ‘route 14’. Close to the top you will see the wooden snake, which is the only snake I like. Here you can stop and top up your water bottles with chilled spring water. There are a few benches on the route to have a rest and eat your picnic.
Zillertal
Down the far side into Zillertal, you have a beautiful vista up the valley to the high peaks. In the other direction you are looking down to the Inntal and their chalk mountain that line the valley. It is all so picturesque don’t forget to stop and take photos. You can get wrapped up in the winding descent where you can pick up some more speed as the surface is great and the roads are quiet.
Beautiful traditional farmhouses with balcony flowers, line the road all the way down to the valley floor. The road down to Bruck was closed when we did this trip. I would suggest the route down to Hart in Zillertal is so pretty it’s worth the extra 8 kms. The Zillertal flat from Hart, where you can join the ‘Bike Trail Tirol’ down to end of the valley.
Inntal
From there you join the Inntal Cycle path back to Brixlegg. In Brixlegg there is an excellent ‘bike stop’ right by the river with a couple of charging points for ebikes. There is a map, some seating and replacement innertubes at a very reasonable price.
Well done to Alpbachtal and Brixlegg for building it. Just one suggestion – please put in a water dispenser to fill up our bottles and it would be perfect.
Afternoon bike ride
As you can see from the route map it took us just under 2.5 hours of cycling. We spent the whole afternoon on a sunny day, enjoying this route. Soaking up the views around us, taking photos and we took a picnic for a late lunch. Top tip – we ended the afternoon enjoying a delicious ice cream we bought in Brixlegg. We sat at the ‘bike stop’ beside the river Inn watching the sun go down over the mountains of the Inn valley.
